The sky’s the limit

Managing travel typically helps hit six corporate strategic goals, according to GoldSpring Consulting: cost management, sustainability, regulatory compliance, traveller satisfaction, duty of care, and process efficiency. The challenge for mid-sized travel programmes, said GoldSpring partner Will Tate, is that these strategic priorities are the same as for larger spenders but with one key difference: “the capacity to manage them is less.”

The limitations are self-evident, including reduced spending leverage, lack of resource (often there is no full-time travel manager), lack of funds to invest in technology and in some cases lack of expertise.

“In many SMEs, the travel programme is managed ‘on the side’,” said Tatjana Bursch, travel management and active sourcing specialist at IT service provider Spirit/21. “It is quite common for a part-time employee to take care of the travel programme and also handle travel bookings centrally. The travel policy, if it exists, is sometimes only rudimentarily formulated and there is little awareness of many issues in travel management and often a lack of knowledge. However, SMEs can often act more quickly and flexibly due to their structures. Decision-making paths are often shorter and processes more agile.”

SMEs’ flexibility is a point also highlighted by Christina Ridiger, travel management expert at UMS Consulting. Both Ridiger and Bursch sit on the SME committee of VDR, the association of German travel managers. “[SMEs] usually have less complex structures, often no central travel centre and less extensive approval processes,” said Ridiger. The upshot is that “communication is more direct and decisions can be made more quickly.”

Furthermore, “Travel policies are generally more adaptable. SMEs are also more able to respond to employees’ individual preferences, whereas larger companies often have to implement standardised processes.”

Despite the challenges of fewer resources, both Ridiger and Emma De Lange, travel manager for the Geneva-based non-profit educational foundation International Baccalaureate, insist small and mid-market travel programmes can be high-achieving and innovative. Size, they insist, is no barrier to negotiating discounts with suppliers, nor to adopting technology early.

“In certain industries such as consulting, where firms travel a lot, the volume can be comparable to larger companies and therefore they can achieve similar benefits,” said Ridiger.